Such switching systems can, for example, be the switch cabinets of construction machinery or material transfer machinery such as cranes or earthmovers or other work machines and can include various power electronic components such as frequency converters, control electronics, capacitors and various cables having different diameters, different conductor types and different connectors and the like. The assembly of such electric switching systems is highly complex as a rule, requires high concentration of the workman, and is also prone to error while consulting circuit diagrams. On the one hand, not only the components have to be correctly arranged in the switch cabinet, but the correct connector points of the correct components also have to be connected to the respective correct cables or wires, with a large number of cables gradually being arranged in the switch cabinet here. In this respect, components can comprise a plurality of connector points at which a corresponding component is to be wired to various other components, with the respective correct connector point having to be connected to the correct component. Cables of the correct thickness and of the correct cable type are also to be used here depending on the component and on the connection. A standardized carrying out of the work steps that follows a scheme is difficult and is also not easy to monitor due to the variety of and differences between the components to be installed and to be connected to one another.
Such switching systems have previously been wired with the aid of a circuit diagram or also while making use of leads on which the start connector and the target connector are printed. In both cases, the workman has to look for both connectors and must lay the leads accordingly. If work is performed using a circuit diagram, it is also necessary to mark which of the leads has already been laid.
All this work has previously typically been carried out by hand and frequently results in errors that have to be corrected in an expensive and/or complex manner in an additional test step. Due to the manual wiring that has a certain error rate and due to the check that does not reliably find all the errors, it frequently occurs that errors only become noticeable during the deployment in accordance with the intended purpose by the purchaser of the unit.
Unlike with, for example, networks in which current data of the network such as MAC addresses, current connections, etc. can be displayed, a switch cabinet can as a rule not be tested as to its function in the semifinished state since the switch cabinet is not yet live and a step-for-step check is not possible since the interaction of all the components or of specific components that may, however, not even be installed, is necessary for specific functions. An automated monitoring of the assembly of a switch cabinet is in this respect additionally also made more difficult in that the different components are as a rule not always assembled in a previously fixed order, but rather in that completely configured leads are provided to the workman during the switch cabinet construction in respective lengths and with respective fitting means in a chaotic order and the workman then installs this respective lead. Unlike with network installations using patch cables that are always the same and always have the same jacks, the cables to be installed on the construction of a switch cabinet additionally differ from one another with respect to cable diameter, cable type, or fitting means.
The production of such switch cabinets is ultimately very dependent on the respective workman and his form on the day. It would therefore be helpful to simplify the assembly for the workman and to provide the workman with an aid that reduces the number of errors and avoids a complex and/or expensive reworking.
A computer system is also known from document DE 198 10 115 C2 that records images by means of a digital camera of a switch cabinet in which the connector terminals of electrical devices can be recognized. After marking the connector terminals by means of a mouse click and specification of waypoints of the desired cable extent between the connector terminals, likewise by means of one or more mouse clicks, the computer calculates the required cable length and controls a cable assembly machine that then cuts a wiring cable of the required length and provides it with wire ferrules. This admittedly facilitates the wiring with respect to the production of the required cables and avoids material rejects due to cutting off wiring cables that are too short, but the previously named error sources such as an incorrect connection to incorrect connector points, non-wiring due to forgetting a cable connection, and the like cannot be eliminated.
A test device for switch cabinets or racks is known from DE 10 2008 012 122 B4 that records images of the assembled switch cabinet by means of a camera and identifies installation components with reference to code marks. Operating data such as disturbances, the energy balance, or also service notes are furthermore invoked from a monitoring device and are displayed for the test engineer on a display unit. This system admittedly facilitates the checking and servicing of switch cabinets, but does not help in their assembly.
A test apparatus is furthermore known from DE 10 2011 107 839 A1 that identifies the IT components present in a server rack and their positions in the server rack by means of a camera and by means of an image evaluation device.
Starting from this, it is the underlying object of the present disclosure to provide an assembly method and an auxiliary assembly apparatus of the initially named kind which avoids disadvantages of the prior art and further develops the latter in an advantageous manner. The wiring of the electrical components of a switch cabinet should in particular be facilitated, error sources minimized and a complex and/or expensive rework avoided.
In accordance with the present disclosure, the named object is achieved by the assembly method and auxiliary assembly apparatus described below.
It is therefore proposed to simplify the assembly of such electric switching systems by the use of a monitoring system that automatically identifies the different components respectively provided for connection in the switching system, determines their desired connectors, and automatically checks the actual installation for the correct connector situation. In accordance with the present disclosure, a component respectively provided for connection in the switching system is identified by an identification device, with at least one desired connector point to which the identified component is to be installed is determined by a connector point determination device in dependence on the component identified by the identification device, and with the actual connector point to which the component has actually been connected monitored by a monitoring apparatus and an error message/alarm is output on a deviation of the detected actual connector point from the desired connector point. The various components can be installed in the switch cabinet in a non-predefined or chaotic or alternating order due to such an individual component identification and determination of the desired connectors provided for the respective identified component without the correct build-up of the switch cabinet and the correct connection of the components to one another hereby being mixed up. At the same time, an automated monitoring of the actual connector situations of the components is made possible since, due to the component identification, the monitoring device is aware of where the respective component is to be connected and can, to this extent, reduce the boundary conditions of the data to be processed required for the monitoring.
Various components can also be correctly installed and monitored with respect to their correct installation by the individual component identification, and indeed also in particular components of different types or of different categories or of different assembly such as cables having different cable diameters and/or different conductor types or cord types and/or different connectors. Electronic and power electronic components such as frequency converters, control electronics or capacitors can also be individually identified by the identification device so that the desired connector position can be determined by the connector determination device on the basis of a signal of the identification device and the correction connection can be monitored by the monitoring device.
An augmented reality system can in particular be used here by means of which an image of the switching system is displayed on a display and the connector point which is determined by the determination device for the respective provided component and to which the identified component is to be connected is superimposed into the displayed image on the display. Where the respective next work step is to be carried out is precisely displayed to the workman by the automatic identification of a respective component to be connected and by the display provided by the augmented reality system of the connector point of the respective identified component in the image of the switching system shown on the display. The installation of the switching system is hereby considerably simplified.
Such an augmented reality system is a computer-aided image representation system by means of which an image of the switching system is superimposed with computer-generated additional information.
In an advantageous further development of the present disclosure, the image of the switching system displayed on the display can be a live image or also a recorded image that is provided by a camera directed to the switching system to be assembled. The advantage of the use of a live image that displays the respective current assembly state is a simplified comparison between the actual reality and the reality displayed in the image so that it is ultimately easier for the workman to orient himself. The image can, however, optionally also be buffered or recorded and displayed to the workman with a time offset. Alternatively or additionally to an actual image of the switching system provided from a camera, optionally a digital camera, a computer-generated virtual image of the switching system can optionally also be displayed, with such a virtual image of the switching system being able to be provided, for example, by a three-dimensional CAD system that shows the components and their arrangement.
The image displayed on the display can here be a live image in the manner of a television image constantly currently showing the actual status of the switching system. Alternatively, a freeze frame can also be displayed that is only updated at larger time intervals of, for example, some seconds, that so-to-say freezes the actual status of the switching system, and that facilitates the detailed observation by fewer changes. For example, a freeze frame that is only updated in the rhythm of the work steps, that is updated cyclically, or that is updated after every completed assembly step can also be displayed on the display.
The image of the switching system displayed to the workman is therefore advantageously constantly or cyclically adapted to the progressing assembly status of the switching system. Whereas a relatively “bare” image of the switching system with only a few basic components such as the carrier frame and/or still without components to be installed can be displayed at the start of the assembly of the switching system, as the progress of the assembly moves forward, an ever richer image of the switching system is displayed, and toward the end of the assembly process, an image of the switching system is displayed with more and more components and connections to one another. Said adaptation of the displayed image to the progressing assembly status can be realized in the named manner by displaying a live image or a stored, previously recorded real image. Alternatively or additionally, the image, for example a computer-generated circuit diagram image and/or an image recorded by a camera can be gradually changed in dependence on the identified and assembled components, for example such that, with correctly assembled components, said components are installed into the image to be displayed using computer aid. The image displayed to the workman thus advantageously changes and is adapted to the actual status of the switching cabinet.
Said image of the switching system in which the electric or electronic components and their connector points are superimposed can generally be displayed on different displays. For example, a screen standing next to the switch cabinet or a screen positioned at least in the vicinity of the switching system (e.g., within a viewing range of a workman as the workman assembles the switching system), on which said image is displayed, can be used as the display.
In an advantageous further development of the present disclosure, the image of the switching system can also be displayed on smartglasses that the respective workman can wear during the assembly. Such smartglasses can, for example, comprise a display positionable in the region of a customary eyeglass lens that can, for example, be pivotably supported at the glasses frame to be able to be pivoted in front of the eye or away from the eye. Alternatively or additionally, the display can also work in the manner of a head-up display that can project the image onto the lens through which the workman can look. Such smartglasses are known per se and are described, for example, in documents DE 20 2012 003 317 U1 or DE 20 2012 003 332 U1 to which reference can be made to this extent with respect to the design of the smartglasses.
To be able to display the connector points of the components to be connected and their desired position in the image of the switching system, said augmented reality system or the computer-assisted image generation system can advantageously have a CAD interface to see the connector points of the electrical components to be wired or connected and their desired positions in the electrical switching system from an electrical CAD system to which the augmented reality system can be connected. Such an e-CAD system can, for example, store the circuit diagram of the switching system to be wired or can in particular also be the e-CAD system on which the switching system and/or its circuit diagram was/were generated. Alternatively or additionally to a direct connection to said e-CAD system, a CAD data record that shows the switching system and/or its circuit diagram can also be supplied to the augmented reality system, with such a CAD data record being able to be supplied, for example as a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a USB stick or in another manner, for which the augmented reality system can have a corresponding interface.
Advantageously, not only the connector point of a component can be displayed or superimposed by means of the augmented reality system or its superimposition apparatus in the image of the switching system displayed on the display, but also its position and/or its alignment and/or its assembly position in the switching system so that a workman can also see exactly where the respective component is to be positioned and assembled in the switching plant. In this respect, the actual position and/or actual alignment of the component and/or the actual position of its connector point can be crossfaded on the display with the corresponding desired position and/or desired alignment that can be acquired from the e-CAD system or can be seen from said e-CAD file to illustrate deviations of the assembled actual position or actual alignment from the desired position or desired alignment.
The identification device for identifying a respective component to be connected can generally be of different designs. For example, the component to be identified can be identified with reference to a mark applied to the component, for example in the form of a barcode and/or of a letter code or numeral code and/or of a different character code and/or of a geometrical shape mark. The identification device can have a barcode reader for this purpose, for example. Alternatively or additionally, however, an identification can also take place in a different manner, for example by means of an RFID chip.
The component to be wired can in particular also be identified by means of an image evaluation device that can identify the component with reference to its contour and/or size and/or color and/or surface property such as light-reflective, mirror-coated, etc. The image evaluation device can in this respect in particular evaluate the image data that are provided by the camera observing the switching system.
Alternatively or additionally, a respective component can also be identified by the identification device with reference to its fitting means such as wire ferrules and/or with reference to the dimensions of its main axes of extent and/or with reference to its diameter and/or its geometry.
It is hereby made possible in a further development of the present disclosure that the workman simply holds a respective component to be assembled in the switch cabinet or in the camera field of the camera observing the switching system or in the scanning zone of a scanning device before the component is actually wired. In the image provided by the camera, the image evaluation device can then identify the component shown there with reference to one of the aforesaid criteria such as a barcode or the like.
In a further development of the present disclosure, a monitoring of individual assembly steps or of all the assembly steps can also be carried out with the aid of the augmented reality system. In this respect, the actual image of the wiring recorded by the camera of the augmented reality system and of the arrangement of the components can be compared with the desired wiring and the desired arrangement of the components such as can be acquired from the e-CAD system. For this purpose, the image evaluation device identifies the individual components in the camera image, for example with reference to the aforesaid barcode, and the leads or the connector parts which are connected thereto and to which the identified component was connected. If the identified connector points and/or wiring courses differ from the desired state in accordance with the circuit diagram such as can be acquired from the e-CAD system or also by a prior teach-in process, an error message can be output and the corresponding error point can be marked on the camera image displayed at the display.
In addition to the complete wiring, part steps of the assembly process can also be monitored by the monitoring device. It can thus, for example, be monitored during the application of a wire ferrule whether a lead having the correct cross-section was insulated and/or was insulated to the correct length and/or whether the wire ferrule was correctly crimped.
Alternatively or additionally, the monitoring device can monitor whether the respective correct tool is used in an assembly step, for example the correct wrench for tightening screws. It can alternatively or additionally be monitored whether a lead was laid in the correct color and/or with the correct cross-section. Alternatively or additionally, the correct fixing of conductor ends can also be monitored.
Alternatively or additionally, the monitoring device can also monitor and recognize incorrect mountings. If, for example, a component is not found or identified at its place specified in accordance with the circuit diagram, an error message can be displayed, for example by imaging an error symbol at the incorrectly mounted position in the camera image.
In a further development of the present disclosure, the assembly or production can be documented by means of said augmented reality system, for example for safety-critical components, in order later to be able to keep a corresponding product function record.
Alternatively or additionally, in a further development of the present disclosure, aids for the workman can also be displayed as required, for example on said display. Such aids can, for example, include texts that appear or can be videos that can be played on the display.
The present disclosure will be explained in more detail in the following with respect to an embodiment and to associated drawings.